PRS Foundation’s New Music Biennial is a critically acclaimed free festival presenting a unique snapshot of contemporary music in the UK today. 20 newly commissioned pieces of music were performed across two festival weekends, at London’s Southbank Centre (5-7 July) and across a range of venues in Hull (12-14 July), including the new performance venue under development in Humber Street, which opened temporarily for the New Music Biennial before its full re-opening coming later this year. Pieces were broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and will be available for download from NMC recordings.

The New Music Biennial provides a unique pop-up and accessible way for audiences to discover new music by presenting newly commissioned pieces, each 15 minutes long, followed by Q&A sessions with the artist themselves.

New Biennial is supported by: Arts Council England, Creative Scotland, Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Arts Council of Wales, Hull University, The John S Cohen Foundation, The Richard Thomas Foundation, The Radcliffe Trust, RVW Trust, The Finzi Trust, The Bliss Trust and the BBC Concert Orchestra.

 

Across the weekend

 

Dan Jones

Music for Seven Ice Cream Vans
12 – 14 July
Various, locations across Hull
A nostalgic score floods the streets of Hull as a fleet of ice cream vans call out to one another. Each with their own harmony, they create a symphony of clustered sounds and a shared soundscape for unsuspecting audiences. Dan Jones is a multi award-winning composer and sound designer, who created music for Hull UK City of Culture 2017’s We Are Hull.

 

Khyam Allami

Requiem for the 21st Century
12 July, 18:00 – 20:00
13 – 14 July, 10:00 – 18:00
Humber Street Gallery
An immersive sound installation by Iraqi oud player, multi-instrumentalist and composer Khyam Allami. Inspired by the instrument’s myth and rich history, this powerful piece offers us a moment to contemplate and commemorate those we have lost.

 

Friday 12 July

 

Aidan O’Rourke, Kit Downes and James Robertson

365
17:15 – 18:15
James Reckitt Room, Hull Central Library
Leading musician Aidan O’Rourke, of Lau, created a new tune each day for a year, inspired by author James Robertson. With jazz heavyweight Kit Downes, 365 weaves together folk legends, hard truths and tender tales.

 

Sona Jobarteh

Innovation Through Preservation
21:00 – 22:00
Fruit, Humber Street
Jobarteh is a modern-day pioneer; the first female Kora player to come from a west African Griot family. Using African and Western instruments in parallel, this unique piece unfolds ancient stories.

 

Forest Swords and Immix Ensemble

Trespassing
22:00 – 23:00
Fruit, Humber Street
This exciting collaboration explores the future sonic landscapes of rapidly changing cities, such as Hull. A unique blend of jagged hip-hop, looping guitar lines and manipulated samples by six world-class instrumentalists.

 

Saturday 13 July

 

Aidan O’Rourke, Kit Downes and James Robertson

365
10:30 – 11:30
James Reckitt Room, Hull Central Library
Leading musician Aidan O’Rourke, of Lau, created a new tune each day for a year, inspired by author James Robertson. Hear more from their 365 series in this additional performance, without Q&A.

 

Klein

Osanle
12:00 – 13:00
Hull Truck Theatre
A collage of drama and dance, London-based composer and musician Klein explores ballet through the eyes of three teenage boys as they discover the art for the very first time.

 

Jessica Curry

She Who
13:00 – 14:00
The Guildhall
She Who celebrates the powerful, beautiful collective voice of women and youth. An electrifying piece that speaks of hope and female power, written by BAFTA winning composer Jessica Curry and performed by the National Youth Choir.

 

Gazelle Twin & Max De Wardener

The Power and the Glory
15.30 – 16.30
Hull City Hall
Composer, producer and musician Gazelle Twin’s collaboration with composer Max de Wardener brings the blend of traditional musical concepts and futuristic pop to a full symphony orchestra.

 

Conor Mitchell

Lunaria
17:00 – 18:00
Hull Truck Theatre
Lunaria (a flower that takes two years to bloom) celebrates what’s possible when a variety of artists make work together, featuring music, theatre and projection. Internationally recognised, Conor Mitchell’s output encompasses opera, orchestral and chamber work.

 

Shiva Feshareki

Dialogue
19:00 – 20:00
Hull City Hall
Turntable artist Shiva Feshareki describes Dialogue as a “sonic sculpture”. Honoured with the BASCA British Composer Award for Innovation, expect cutting-edge live-sampling of the orchestra through electronic improvisations.

 

Numb Mob

Where to Build in Stone
20:30 – 21:30
Fruit, Humber Street
Beverley-based electronic duo Numb Mob uncover the mysterious and oddly beautiful side of Hull in an audiovisual piece; performed with a variety of instruments and inspired by the shapes and sounds of the city.

 

Sarah Tandy

The Dream Without A Name
22:00 – 23:00
Fruit, Humber Street
Poet Langston Hughes helped shape the identity of jazz in popular consciousness. Tandy, one of the most in-demand UK jazz pianists, re-interprets his ideas about music, love and city life.

 

Sunday 14 July

 

Arun Ghosh

AMBHAS
12:30 – 13:30
Nelson Street Pier
An extraordinary outdoor project on the River Humber by clarinettist, composer and music educator Arun Ghosh, involving local participants. Gather to look across the river as this water-inspired piece blends natural and orchestral sounds.

 

Edmund Finnis

The Centre Is Everywhere
13:45 – 14:45
Fruit, Humber Street
A starkly original work that brings together Finnis’ exquisite sonic language with the work of one of Britain’s most exciting young ensembles, Manchester Collective. Finnis’ work is described as ‘magical’ and ‘iridescent, compelling’.

 

Roderick Williams

Three Songs from Ethiopia Boy
15:00 – 16:00
Hull City Hall
Be one of the first to hear this new addition to Chineke! Orchestra’s jazz inspired programme. Composer and baritone soloist Williams scores a piece inspired by Chris Beckett’s poems about his upbringing in Ethiopia.

 

David Fennessy

Panopticon
16:00 – 17:00
Mortimer Suite, Hull City Hall
Every attack on the string of the cimbalom has a consequence on the other players. Each beat triggers a ripple. Fennessy’s new work uses the instrument to plot the course of this innovative new piece.

 

Sam Eastmond

Brit-Ish
17:15 – 18:15
Hull Truck Theatre
At a time when nationalism and ethnic identities are being placed into opposition, explore what it means to have a hyphened identity in 21st century Britain. Diverse Jewish legacies are infused with a contemporary sensibility.

 

9Bach

Yn dy Lais – In Your Voice
20:00 – 21:00
Fruit, Humber Street
Welsh-language band 9Bach present an atmospheric, genre-defying piece about miscommunication in a multi-lingual, multimedia age. With a spoken-word video-sync voiced by Maxine Peake, in collaboration with drummer Andy Gangadeen (Massive Attack).